Joseph T. Jerkins

Joe Jerkins died peacefully at his home on December 3, 2013 after a lengthy battle with leukemia. His loving wife, Shirley, was by his side. He was an Oklahoman by birth but an Austinite by choice. Joe was a pioneer in the broadcasting business and made an indelible mark on the radio and television industry. He began his broadcasting career in 1942 as a radio announcer while still in high school. After joining the U.S. Navy in World War II, he earned an electrical engineering degree at the University of Oklahoma. He worked in management at WKY-TV in Oklahoma City and was involved in the first Tornado Warning alert ever broadcast. He moved to Austin in 1979 to become President and General Manager of KVUE-TV…a position he held for almost a decade. Joe contributed in countless ways to the Central Texas community. He started the Austin Crimestoppers program; he led the United Way, the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, American Youth Works and the Austin Community Foundation. He served on the Texas Governor’s Task Force on Highway Safety. On April 17, 1990, Mayor Lee Cooke proclaimed it Joe Jerkins Day of Appreciation for his many contributions to Austin. Joe served as President of the Texas Association of Broadcasters in 1991 and was honored as a TAB Pioneer. He also won the Most Worthy Citizen Award from the Austin Board of Realtors in 2006. He considered serving the community his highest calling and taught his staff that the role of the media was to enlighten, inform and make a positive difference. He will be greatly missed by so many broadcasters who considered him a role model and mentor, but most of all as a caring husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

Joe is survived by his wife, Shirley Jerkins and his son, John Jerkins and his wife, Cindy and his daughter, Susan Jerkins Gates. He is also survived by his step-children and their spouses; Mianne and Michael Haley, Rex Allen and Ric Savage, Ross and Lois Allen, Phyllis and Fred Zumwalt and Elmo and Kathy Brown. Joe had 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Services will be held Friday, December 6 at 2:00pm in the Family Life Center at Northwest Hills United Methodist Church 7050 Village Center Dr. Reception to follow. The family requests contributions in Joe’s honor be made to the Northwest Hills United Methodist Church Building Fund. Memories of Joe’s amazing life may be shared with the family at www.cookwaldencapitalparksfuneralhome.com